Typewriting machine



July 23, 1940- Y W. F. HELMOND 2,209,226

Filed April 2d, 1958 ATTORN EY Patented July 23, 1940 UNITED STATES TYPEWRITING MACHINE William F. Helmond, West Hartford, Conn., as-

signor to Underwood Elliott Fisher Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application April 20, 1938, Serial No. 203,066

9 Claims.

This invention relates to devices for supporting and releasably holding a typewriter or similar machine in place on a supporting structure.

An object of the invention is to provide a rugged hold-down device adapted for economic manufacture, having complemental latching parts readily attachable to the typewriter and the supporting desk respectively, serving to securely hold the typewriter against accidental dislodgement.

Another object is to provide a releasable holddown device, the sound isolation characteristics of which render same particularly adaptable for use in conjunction with a resilient typewriter foot having sound-absorbing characteristics, the combination thus affording adequate means for supporting and holding the typewriter, at the same time minimizing the transmission of typewriter noises into the supporting structure of the machine.

One embodiment of the hold-down device, preferably employed at each of the forward feet of the typewriter, provides a conveniently accessible nger-piece actuable to release the catch by a downward pressure applied by the thumb of the operator, while the ngers may lift the typewriter from the foot retaining sockets until entirely free of the hold-down device.

Other objects and advantages will hereinafter appear.

This is a continuation in part of my co-pending application, Serial No. 675,254 filed June l0, 1933, now Patent No. 2,118,085, issued May 24, 1938.

In the accompanying drawing:

Figure 1 is a side elevational View showing a typewriter resting on a supporting structure or desk board and illustrating the typewriter feet and hold-down device in cross section.

Figure 2 is a side elevation illustrating the use of the hold-down device and resilient feet in co operation to retain the typewriter on the tilted board of the usual typewriter desk.

Figure 3 is a plan view of a desk board illustrating the preferred arrangement of foot-receiving sockets and the associated hold-down devices.

Figure 4 is a detail perspective view in quarter o. section, of the associated resilient foot and one form of the hold-down device shown in Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a vertical sectional View of a resilient foot and a modified form of hold-down device, and

Figure 6 is a detail perspective view of the device shown in Figure 5, the resilient foot being shown in quarter section.

A typewriter IE), resting on a table or baseboard. II, is illustrated in connection with the resilient feet and hold-down device. Each foot includes a rubber portion I2 which forms the base of the foot and a felt portion i3. The rubber portion is reduced in diameter to form a neck I4 and an upwardly-facing shoulder I5. The felt portionv or collar I3 :lits the neck I4 and is seated upon the shoulder l5, the latter being made concave,

- by being beveled downwardly from its outer edge, as shown. By the concavity of the shoulder I5, the tendency of the felt collar to spread lunder the load of the typewriter is resisted. The felt collar I3 overtops the neck i4 of the rubber portion I2 minimizing the transmission of noise, spaced from the machine. The felt collar I3 is surmounted by a cap I6 which embraces the periphery of the collar, and thereby cooperates to resist the spreading of the latter.

The top of the cap I6 bears against the maA chine-surface to which the foot is attached by means of a headed screw I8. Cooperating with a shoulder I9 of said screw is a seat 20, which is ccunterbored from the bottom of the rubber portion I2. The screw I8 also has ashoulder 2| which bears against the bottom of the cap I6 when the foot is attached to the machine, it being noted that the shoulder I9 at the screw-head is preferably spaced from the seat 20 for minimizing the transmission of machine noises to thel table II. The bottom of the rubber portion I2 may be concave. The screw IBhas a thread 2 received in the typewriter I0. f

For retaining the typewriter against lateral displacement, the table is provided with cups or sockets 23, in which the feet of the typewriter are set, the sockets being secured to the table by bolts 24, and arranged as shown more clearly in Figure 3. In each form of hold-down device, same is associated with the front feet of the typewriter, the purpose of the hold-down device being primarily to hold the machine I0 from tum- 4 which is thereby, for the purpose of fill alignment with a hook-forming tongue 3l! of a catch 3| formed as shown more clearly in Figure 4. Said catch 3| is swingable between latched and released ,positions indicated respectively `by the full outline and dotted outline in Figure 1. For fulcruming the catch and detenting it in either position, there `underlie the cup 23 for the front foot, a pair of superposed plates 32 and 33, both plates extending forwardly' from the cup 23 and being secured, together with said cup,to the table Il by the bolt 24, each plate having a hole through which the bolt passes. The plates 32, 33 are prevented from turning by a dowelscrew 34' passing through holes in the plates, the screw-head *being cleared by a hole in the cup 23.

The upper plate 32 is formed to present an inverted V-shaped notch 36 facing the lower plate 33, the forward end of said upper plate 32 passing through an aperture 3'! of the catch `3| which, as indicated in Figure 4, forms polygonal pivot-key 35 having a, pivoting edge 33 fulcrumed in the notch 35. Paralleling said pivoting edge 38 is a bottom edge 39 of the catch 3|, said bot-` `tom edge bearing upon the top of the lower plate 33.v The plate 32; may be made of spring metal, so that the plates 32 33 are resiliently pressed together when fastened down on thetable ii.-

the pivot-key 35 is clasped by resilient pressure between said plates 32, 33V and for-ms the pivot for the swinging of catch 3|. It' will be noted that the resilient pressureexerted by platel 32, coacting with the polygonal pivot-key yieldably holdsthe catch 3| to either one of its positions which are determined by abutment ,of the respective faces of key 35 with opposite sides of they-.shaped notch 35. As the catch 3| is swung to either position, there is momentarily a slight increased separation of the plates 32, 33 as the lower ledge 39 is thrown between opposite sides of the fulcrum formed by the .notch 36. The .forward end of the lower plate 33 may be bent to overlie the free end of the upper plate 32 to form a buttress 4,2 to prevent excessive ilexure of the. upper plate 32 as itA cooperates withthe catchv 3| in holding the typewriter in tilted position when the latter, housed in a typewriter-desk 4|, issWung with its table to the retired position, Figure l2. The typewriter-desk 4| includes the conventionally indicated linkage 43 associated with the tilting and raising of the table li.

The foot-parts i2, i3 and i6 are preferably made uniform in dimensions, and, to compensate for the absence of the hold-down parts at therear feet, the cups 23 for -said rear feet may rest upon shims 44.

lFor handling the composite foot-as a unit- Which includes either the capy I6, or both saidV cap and the hasp-plate 2l, the parts are held together b y the screw I8. For this purpose, the cap ['6 alone, as for the rear feet, is threaded over the screw-.thread 22, or both the cap andA the I hasp-.plate 2l, as for the front feet, are threaded oversaid screw-thread.- -The screwthread 22 is undercut to form a shoulder` (i5 serving with the shoulder 2| of the screw to retain the capA I6 and thehasp-plate 2l, after the latter two partsA have been threaded pastv the shoulder 45. The undercut or groove permits the screw to be turned without turning parts it, 2l.v At the 1 f screw-thread 22 without being provided with a screw-thread themselves.k It will be seen that either the front foot including the hasp 2l' or the rear foot without said hasp, may, by the described arrangement, be handled as a unit when detached from the typewriter, The eye 28 of the hasp-plate 21 is formed in a tongue 46 of said plate, which slopes outwardly 5 anddownwardly from the top of the foot to extend in spaced parallelism with the catch 3| when the latter is in its effective position. It will be noted that the catch 3|, in effective position relatively to the hasp-plate 21, serves adequately to hold the typewriter against dislodgment and, the hasp-plate 2'! and catch 3| are nevertheless out of contact with each other to thus prevent 'transmission of sound through the hold-down device. v l yThe hasp-plate 21 preferably is constructed of a separate piece as shown but may be a part of -the typewriter frame.

Thus, in a sense, the catch 3| is engageable with the typewriting machine, although specically engaging the haspplate carried thereby.

The second or modied form of a hold-down device illustrated in' Figures 5 and 6 will nowfbe described, this form' presenting substantially a similar arrangement` to that lembodied inthe first' form buty incorporating certain other v.features and advantages aswill hereinafter appear. .In this form the cap 5B, which resists spreading of; the felt portion I3 of the resilient foot, is'eX-j' tended so as to provide a hasp 5I having an eye 52 for reception 0f ythe releasable ,ca tcliof the' sol hold-down device, Vindicated generally Abynum-` eral 54.` The cap 5|]v has a circumferential'flangef which embraces substantially the entirep'eriph ery of the' -felt portion I3 to prevent excessive distortion of same underload ofthe typevvriter,` the depending flange being directed outwardly at, one region in the periphery to form ,'the'hafsp 5|; The hasp 5| is secured'to the typewriter bytlfley screw I8 which, as in the rst forni, serves also to; g hold the resilient foot vin place on the'typewriter." Q0 Cap 50 has a dowel 53 seatingl in `the' typewriter i0 to prevent rotation of thecap and thus" mainftain alignment of hasp 5| with vthe catch 54'.

A cup or socket55 is secured to thebaseboard" by a sere-W56 which also serves 'to' secure a lower or base plate 5l and an upper plate Ai'lt'o the baseboard, each of saidv plates, having-"arr` aperture admitting a countersunk portion 5 9 of" the cup 55, accommodating the head of screw 5t?V as shown more clearly in Figure 5; A-dowel' screw lill serves to prevent displacement-of the lower plate 51, theupper plate 58 having'an aperture clearing the head of said screw. The upper plate 58 acts as a spring and isac-f' cordingly formed of resilientY material bentfto provide an inverted v-shaped vn'otchilv adjacent the free end of the plate. Thev lower plate 51 3 forms an incline or'cam '|52l substantially opposite`I the notch 6|, the free end of plate 5,1' beingoverf turned at 63 so as toy overlie the free end ofthe upper'plate.v f 1; r The catch 54 may be fabricated` offlat Vstock,y being bent intermediate its'ends into a lzigzag 'or reversebentform defining aY medial portionl'at one end of which, a hook-forming tonguef isi` provided and, at'the opposite end, a polygonal:v pivot-key 61 defined by an aperture 68.-l The? projecting portion of the upper plate 58 is disposed within the aperture 68 so that' the pivotkey 5l is retained in notch 6I to cooperate :between the notch and the incline or cam- 6.2.v Resilient plate 53. exerts a downward pressure on.,` the pivot-key 61, pressing the pivot-keyagainst'; v lower plate 5l. therebyrin @operation withfcam 75..

62., tending to rotate vthe key ina counter-clockwise direction which serves to yieldably hold catch 54 in its normal position, which position is defined by the abutment ofr the catch with the overturned portion 63.

'I'he hasp 5|, `as shown in the drawing, is preferably constructed integral with'the cap 50, the latter being a separate piece attached to the typewriter. However, the hasp5| in the organization forms a part of the typewriter and thus in a sense, the catch 54 is engageable with the typewriting machine, although specifically engaging the hasp 5| carried thereby.

As shown more clearly in Figure 6,- the intermediate portion 65 of the catch is extended laterally to provide a iinger-piece 'I0 which, by manual pressure applied .downwardly thereto, causes the catch 54 to be swung to released position as shown in dot-and-dash outline in Figure 5, in which position the tongue 66 is swung clear of the hasp 5I and the typewriter. may be easily lifted from the sockets 55. Inthis regard, it is to be noted that the arrangement of thecatch 54, particularly the finger-piece I0 thereof, facilitates releasing and raising the typewriter from its supports in that the thumbs of the operator may engage the finger-pieces IU of each hold-down device while the operators ngers raise the type- A feature embodied in this form of the holddown device is of advantage in placing the typewriter on the table I I, the arrangement being such that the catch 54 will snap into engagement with the hasp 5I as the typewriter is lowered into place, a lip 1| of the hasp being disposed angularly so as to press the catch-tongue 66 downwardly and rearwardly until same snaps into engaging position within the hasp-eye 52. In this regard, the pivotal-mounting of the catch 54 so as to swing the tongue 66 downwardly and rearwardly, makes for an easy retraction of catch 54, the direction of retraction being in accord with the lowering of the typewriter-carried hasp 5|, with the rear feet of the typewriter already seated in the sockets. It will also be noted that, with the catch 54 in normal latched position, the parts thereof adjacent the hasp 5| are spaced therefrom to prevent any transmission of sound vibrations through the hold-down device and thus, in conjunction with the resilient typewriter foot, will serve to substantially isolate any sound vibrations within the typewriter occurring during the use of the machine, although adequately holding the typewriter in place on the baseboard I I as the latter is tilted into the typewriter desk 4|.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that there is provided, in several embodiments, a novel hold-down device of simple and rugged construction adapted for economic manufacture, and of such form as to be capable of fabrication of sheet metal. It will also be seen that either embodiment of the hold-down device is particularly adapted for use in conjunction with resilient, sound absorbing feet of a typewriter, the combination thus serving to retain the typewriter inposition on its baseboard during the use thereof, the parts being so organized as to prevent' any transmission of sound vibrations from the machine to the supporting structure, also providing a conveniently releasable latch which, upon tilting the typewriter into the desk, holds same in place.

The invention is not confined to theexact embo'diments shown in the drawing nor to the prebut certain modications and changes may be,

made within the spirit or scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

What is claimed as new is: i

1. A hold-down device for Vtypewriting ma chines, including a swingable catchhaving a pivot-key, the lower portion of said key acting upon an element presenting a at surface to said key, a leaf-spring adapted for mounting on said element for yieldable engagement with said key, said spring presenting a transverse notch for retaining said key and forming a pivot bearing with said element for said catch, said spring coacting with said -key and said element to yieldably hold said catch in machine-holding position and permit Vsaid catch to be swung to releasing position.

2. A hold-down device for releasably holding a typewriting machine on a baseboard, including two plates one above the other, adapted. for attachment latwise to the baseboard, at least one of said plates being resilient for yieldable movement relatively to the other plate, a machine-engageable catch having a pivot-key disposed transversely between said plates, one ofsaid plates presenting a transverse notch for retaining said key and forming a pivot bearing for said catch with the other said plate, said plates co-acting with said key tofyieldably holdA said catch in engaging position and permit said catch to be swung to releasing position.

3. A hold-down device for releasably holding a typewriting machine on a baseboard, including a base plate attachable to the baseboard, a resilient plate superposed'on said base plate, a machine-engageable catch having a pivot-key disposed transversely between said plates, said resilient plate presenting a transverse notch for retention of said key in operative association with said plates, said key having a pivoting edge edge fulcrumed in said notch, another edge of said key bearing on said base plate, each of said plates co-acting with said-key to yieldably hold said catch in machine-engageable position and permit swinging of said catch to releasing position.

4. A hold-down device for releasably holding a typewriting machine on a baseboard, including a base plate attachable to the baseboard, a resilient plate superposed on said base plate, a machine-engageable catch having an aperture defining a pivot-key disposed transversely between said plates, said resilient plate projecting through the aperture of said catch and presentinga transverse notch for retention of said key in operative association with said plates, said key having a pivoting edge fulcrumed in said notch, another edge of said key bearing on said base plate, each of said plates co-acting with said key to yieldably hold said catch in ma.- chine-engageable position and permit swinging of said catch to releasing position, said base plate having an overturned portion presenting a stop for said catch in the releasing position.

5. A sound-isolating',fastening device for holding a typewriting machine releasably on a baseboard, including a pair of plates one above the other, adapted for attachment to the baseboard, 

